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The status of the Ridge High School girls soccer team as one of the state’s truly elite programs is not a recent phenomenon. The Red Devils have been one of New Jersey’s most successful clubs since the turn of the century, and even earlier. They’ve made five state finals, winning the 2003 Group III championship with an undefeated season, and have gone 301-58-24 since 1999, with no losing seasons (that includes one .500 finish in 2010), and have only won fewer than 15 games one other time in that span.

So to see Ridge undefeated and headed for this year’s NJSIAA Group IV final is anything but a surprise. What has been different though – at least from the past few seasons – is how much the Red Devils have evolved from a team that relies on its shutdown defense and a few timely goals, to one that is still one of the toughest to score against, but can also beat you with a potent attack that boasts more than just one or two legit weapons.

“I think that’s one thing that’s been really impressive this year, the goal production,” said ninth-year head coach Katie Donahue, who will lead her team against Freehold Township at 5:30 .m. Saturday at Kean University. “In years past, it been team defense that gets us through. Now it’s our team defense coupled with goal production, and it’s taken those games where we feel like we should be the one on top, but it takes some of the guess work out and gives up kind of a boost to confidence where, yeah, we conceded a goal there, but we were able to score three.”

Ridge still boasts the shutdown defense – it’s allowed just six goals against all season – but the Red Devils are also averaging 3.3 goals per game, after scoring just 2.5 per contest last year, 2 per game in 2013 and just 1.7 per match in 2012, the last time Ridge advanced to the state finals. And the Red Devils attack has not only been fierce, it’s been diverse, with several players showing the ability to hurt opponents, regardless of their position.

Senior Chrissy Weyrauch leads the team in scoring, with 15 goals and 9 assists, while classmate Shannon Keefe (15 goals, 6 assists) and junior Julia Lindsey (15 goals, 5 assists) have been just as dangerous. But what’s made that attack even more incredible is the fact Keefe spends much of her time playing outside back, while starting central defender Erin Convery has also been a key offensive weapon, adding 10 goals to the ledger.

“The past couple of years we’ve been really reliant on our defense,” Weyrauch said. “This year we just have multiple players. We have a center back in Erin Convery with 10 goals this season. We have Shannon and Julia with 15 each. We just have so many different payers this year that can finish. I think then main thing this year is that were finishing our shots. That’s really been a game changer; we are able to just keep our composure and finish the big ones.”

And there have been plenty of big ones, and in the season’s biggest games. Ridge’s offense has not only been potent, it’s been clutch, as the veteran group has shown no panic even late in games and in extra time. The Red Devils have notched three double-overtime victories, with two coming in the postseason.

Convery started it during the regular-season finale at Hillsborough, before Weyrauch struck in the final seconds of the Somerset County Tournament final, her second overtime-winner in three seasons, after she’d done the same in the 2013 championship match. And the double-overtime magic showed up again Tuesday night in the Group IV semifinals, as Keefe snapped a scoreless tie with 47 seconds left in the second overtime to lift Ridge to a 1-0 victory over Montclair in a game the Red Devils had dominated.

“In years past, our squads have been sit, sit, sit, defend for the life of us and then we need to capitalize on one goal,” Donahue said after the match. “This year, we’ve been a team where our offensive production is 3-4 goals per games with a lot of people coming, so that sense of burden is off. So again it comes down to our belief system and a lot of the players here know it wouldn’t feel right if this was our last game of the season and just doing what it takes and to keep digging.”

Saturday, as Ridge takes the turf at Kean looking to surpass the 2003 team’s 22-0 mark by notching win No. 24, the focus won’t be on the offense or the defense or the players in between. It’ll be on the team-wide task of capturing this elite program’s first state championship in 12 years and its first-ever as a Group IV club. And for this veteran group, the opening whistle can’t come soon enough.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for all season,” Weyrauch said. “It’s been, since August, we’ve worked for this moment. It’s the end-all for us. We’re just excited about having the opportunity to get there right now.”

“Going undefeated, conference, counties, state section and state championship would be amazing,” Keefe said. “We worked so hard for this, I’m so excited. I can’t wait.”